Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
In the context of a building management system (BMS), a large number of input/output (TO) devices are connected to one or more controllers, thereby to integrate these IO devices into the BMS. For example, the IO devices can take the form of analog inputs (such as temperature, humidity and pressure sensors), digital inputs (for example a digital input that indicates whether a device active or not) analog outputs (such as a variable frequency drive, an I-P transducer, or a valve/damper actuator), and digital outputs (for example those used to open and close relays and switches).
In known systems, a controller is directly connected to every device. A configuration tool is used to download to the controller data for each connected device, such as the device name, type and properties, and control loops used to control the device. This requires a significant amount of manual effort.
In more recent times, there has been a shift towards the possibility of connecting IO devices via a bus-based topology. In moving to such a bus-based topology, complications arise in the context of addressing the individual IO devices.
It follows that there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for managing IO devices in a BMS.